MOL Romania triples sales in Q1

MOL Romania, the local branch of the Hungarian petroleum group MOL made a 134.55 million-euro (470.9 million RON) turnover in the first quarter, almost three times more than the same time last year when the group posted 50 million euros on the domestic market. “The considerable difference stems from the fact that until February 23, 2005, Shell Romania had been part of the Shell Group, therefore the turnover for that period was not added to that of the MOL Group. The turnover for 2006 includes all the operations of the MOL Group in Romania,” said Dumitru Dragomir, the company’s chief financial officer. “The turnover, however, was influenced by the increase in sales and by the trend of the market. The opening of new stations, and the diversification of the product portfolio had a positive influence on MOL’s results,” Dragomir added. MOL posted 2.5 million-euro net income last year, according to the Romanian accounting standards, reverting to profit after a three-year streak of losses. The group representatives attributed the results to the takeover of the Shell filling station network, as well as a favourable international climate, which made its presence felt through the deregulation of the market by Petrom. The rise in the international crude oil quotes was also reflected in the business of the players on the petroleum market, which logged record profits. The group’s turnover on the Romanian market amounted to 420 million euros in 2005.